Poison Study
by Fiercest
Summary: A reunion of sorts. It's been ten years and neither one of them has found their way home.


**A/n: a reunion of sorts. For dances . with . sunflowers who won the first review challenge for my chapter fic Coup D'Etat. Sorry that it's not better DX**

**Enjoy.**

Poison Study

X

He is a proud man who always knew that he would die young. Now, creeping towards thirty, and not quite there yet, he is in danger of being wrong. He'd always hated being wrong. It didn't happen often, but the things he'd been mistaken on had left ripples that affected him still. He was where he was because those very same mistakes had led him there.

Truthfully, he regretted not a single one of his malefactions. He'd won, hadn't he? Killed Itachi, and Danzou, Madara as well.

Well, not alone. He was ashamed, but Madara had been too much for him on his own.

It was almost ten years ago when he'd discovered his uncle's instigation of the massacre, of the kyuubi attack, of his manipulation. Naruto and Kakashi had been there.

He had never forgotten the expression on Naruto's face when the battle had ended; hopeful and cautiously enthusiastic. He'd held out his hand, offering everything on a silver platter; their trust, their friendship, a home and a purpose. But Sasuke didn't want any of that; it didn't exist because it was all tied, when it came down to it, to a hell hole that had signed an order of extermination.

187. That's how many had had their blood spilt that night.

1

That was how many were left.

He left while they slept (after Naruto had excitedly, erratically penned a message to Sakura) and tried not to think about what he'd done.

He had spent the interim between then and now as a mercenary for hire. He did what he was told, nothing more, and nothing less.

He was human, not immune to error or fault. Arrogance was one such as these.

Sasuke had known all his life that he would die young, but that did not mean that he was ready to lie down and take it.

Poisoned and highly annoyed with the dead man, Sasuke sucked up his pride as best he could in preparation for charming the local medic into curing him quickly and free of charge. This is what his life has come to; saving and scraping for every last penny. He had never thought the day would come when material value meant something to him. But he liked eating, and sleeping inside.

Serendipity wasn't something he believed in, but only something like fate could have been to blame here. Because when he tripped through the clinic door, it was a woman with pink hair and green eyes who caught him in shockingly strong arms.

x X x

He'd been on the road a year when Sakura all but ran into the temporary office they'd set up. He'd gotten used to her moods during his tutelage under the slug sanin but he had never seen his mentor looking like she did right now.

She paced in front of him, hand clamped over her mouth to stifle the sounds of her hyperventilating.

"Shisou," he tried.

She looked at him then reverted her gaze with a resounding squeak; she turned back to wearing a hole in the floor in the wake of her steps.

"Sakura-sama," he tried again.

She yanked open a drawer and chugged one of the bottles of sake she found in it. Having been with her too long for this to shock him, Sarutobi simply gave her a flat, tolerant look, as if she were the child he was patiently waiting for to explain her erratic behavior.

She swiped her sleeve across her lips and panted, trying to get the words out, "Sasuke. Uchiha. Here. Now. WhatdoIdoWhatdoIdoWhatdoIdo-?"

"Who?"

She didn't answer, "Black hair, black eyes, looks constipated and like he just stepped out of a catalogue. Get rid of him." The poor boy was then unceremoniously shoved into the waiting room, where he zeroed in on the man she described immediately. And he zeroed in on him. The imposingly tall Sasuke Uchiha took three quick strides and he was already across the waiting room, standing in front of him. The poor, poor kid.

A lump of fear lodged itself in his throat. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his muteness. He cast around for reasons he might be here and tried to grasp at reasons to make him leave, "She'd married," he said, "She doesn't want to see you. And she's married." He added.

Sasuke nodded, as if understanding, he didn't, "I've been poisoned. I just want to be healed." He promised the twelve year old.

Sarutobi didn't really know what to do, he wasn't at a level where he could procure an antidote and the other doctors were more specialized in sickness. "Gimme a second."

He found his mentor still hyperventilating. She swallowed, "Is he gone?"

"No," she gave him a look, as if to ask, 'well, why the hell not?' "I told him you were married."

"I'm not married."

"Anymore, I don't know why I said it, but I did and I cant undo because my mouth does and I don't know," he groaned, gathering his thoughts. "He's been poisoned."

As if magic words had been spoken, she sighed and nodded, "He probably didn't even know I was here," she smiled sadly, "I never thought I'd see him again." She paused, deep in thought and Sarutobi thought she must not be talking to him anymore. "It must have been like, ten years." She nodded, as if deciding something.

He followed her out into the waiting room, where she gestured for Sasuke to follow her into exam room #3.

"It's been a while," she said cheerily. Sasuke nodded his sullen agreement, "What's wrong with you?"

"Poison."

"Where?"

"Bloodstream."

Sarutobi was shocked at their curt interaction.

He knew the legends obviously, although it had taken him a second hearing to recognize the name. Team 7 was a legend as well as a cautionary tale; three precocious genin who grew into heroes- and villains. They grew into leaders- and traitors. In the end though; they were three people whose lives were inexplicably and inextricably intertwined. They were people who loved each other, who hadn't seen each other in a long long time.

It was just strange, is all.

Sakura lay a hand on his neck, fingers pressed to his jugular and it seemed to Sakura's young charge that he was afraid of her very touch. She nodded and seemed to calm down in her natural environment of healing. "I've been after him awhile, I can make the antidote," she began to pull things from the cupboards; "I hope you saved me the trouble and killed him."

"Aa," she smiled and got to work, demolishing herbs, grinding them into the stone bowl. A quiet minute passed and wasted away. "Married, hn?"

Sarutobi wasn't sure, but Sakura had taken it as a question. "Separated."

"I'm sorry," his tone indicated that he wasn't. "Did I know him?"

In a past life.

"No," she replied sagely, "Civilian." Sasuke scoffed, "Don't knock it 'till you try it. It was nice coming home to someone who didn't know about any of it." The boy didn't quite know what 'it' was, but the older shinobi talked about it. It seemed to him that it was a state of mind, a place they went where their heads were swimming with blood and their vision went crimson. Or so he hears, he doesn't quite understand it.

"So you wanted someone you could lie to."

"No," she replied, still inexplicably, utterly calm, "I wanted someone innocent."

He nodded again, as if he understood. And Sarutobi suspected that maybe he really did.

"Any kids?" he continued the assembly line of questions.

She laughed and nodded to Sarutobi, making him blush, "Just him."

Sasuke fumbled around for a moment, without losing his composure. "He…" he paused again, as if unsure of what to say. "He looks nothing like you."

This time, Sakura laughed at his expense, "That's because I'm his mentor, not his mommy. How old did you think he was?"

"You've changed."

"Not much."

"Enough," he countered.

"Enough for what?" she volleyed back.

"Enough that I don't recognize you."

With a sigh, Sakura stopped her grounding and scooped the crushed herbs and pills into a cup, she handed it to Sarutobi to fill with water, then handed it back to Sasuke. He drank the pungent stuff with a scowl.

"Do you…" she smiled a smiled that Sarutobi had never seen before. "You said once, you'd stay if things were different, maybe in another lifetime." She took his hand and suddenly, the Sarutobi boy felt like he was intruding on a private moment. "It's another life and…I have tea in the back. I don't drink tea, but maybe you…do…-?" she rambled.

"You still talk too much."

"And you don't say enough. Saru-chibi?" she addressed him, finally, "We're going to have a guest for the next little while."

They looked at each other then; it was the way his mom looked at him when Sakura took him back to Konoha to visit, like they were welcoming each other home.

**A/n: um…**

**Right so…Sarutobi is Kurenai and Asuma's kid.**

**Sasuke's an ass.**

**Sakura is now a character from an indie film.**

**And I blame rotten tomatoes for all of this.**


End file.
